Thread: -X flag in pg_dump

What use is the -X flag to pg_dump. The code say that if one add a setting 
"feature" to -X then there should also be a flag "--feature". So we have 
for example:
 -X disable-triggers

and 
 --disable-triggers

If all the -X flags come in a long form as well, then what use is the -X
at all? Why would one want to use -X disable-triggers instead of
--disable-triggers ?


-- 
/Dennis Björklund

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006, Dennis Bjorklund wrote:

> What use is the -X flag to pg_dump?

Let me just state before someone else does, that I don't want to remove
-X. The question is if one should add new flags to it or simply just use
the long form for new ones.

-- 
/Dennis Björklund

Dennis Bjorklund wrote:
> What use is the -X flag to pg_dump. The code say that if one add a setting 
> "feature" to -X then there should also be a flag "--feature". So we have 
> for example:
> 
>   -X disable-triggers
> 
> and 
> 
>   --disable-triggers
> 
> If all the -X flags come in a long form as well, then what use is the -X
> at all? Why would one want to use -X disable-triggers instead of
> --disable-triggers ?

The issue is that some operating systems do not support long options, so
-X option is really -X and an argument, while --option is a long option.

We have our own getopt.c library so I am unsure we really need have
cases that don't support long options anymore.

--  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610)
359-1001+  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Newtown Square,
Pennsylvania19073
 

Dennis Bjorklund wrote:
> If all the -X flags come in a long form as well, then what use is the
> -X at all? Why would one want to use -X disable-triggers instead of
> --disable-triggers ?

This was added before we had portable long options.  I suppose we could 
phase it out.

-- 
Peter Eisentraut
http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/

Peter Eisentraut wrote:

>Dennis Bjorklund wrote:
>  
>
>>If all the -X flags come in a long form as well, then what use is the
>>-X at all? Why would one want to use -X disable-triggers instead of
>>--disable-triggers ?
>>    
>>
>
>This was added before we had portable long options.  I suppose we could 
>phase it out.
>
>  
>

Excellent idea. Let's start by deprecating it in a prominent note in 
pg_dump.c. Maybe Dennis could add that to whatever patch he's preparing.

cheers

andrew

Peter Eisentraut wrote:
> Dennis Bjorklund wrote:
> > If all the -X flags come in a long form as well, then what use is the
> > -X at all? Why would one want to use -X disable-triggers instead of
> > --disable-triggers ?
> 
> This was added before we had portable long options.  I suppose we could 
> phase it out.

Yes, I think you are right.

--  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610)
359-1001+  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Newtown Square,
Pennsylvania19073